Cargojet Airways (W8, Hamilton, ON) has confirmed it has deferred the delivery of its eighth B777 freighter on order, from late 2026 to 2027 to "manage CapEx" in light of the global economic downturn.
"We have a strong balance with several risk mitigation opportunities to manage revenue, operating costs, and capital expenditures. An example of how we manage our CapEx would be the most recent decision to exercise an option to defer the last of our B777s that was planned for 2026 until, most likely, 2027. If things change over the next 12 to 18 months, we believe that Cargojet will still be in a position to acquire the eighth B777 as originally planned, in late 2026," President and Chief Executive Ajay Virmani said during the carrier's quarterly earnings call.
Despite "softness" in the global market, Cargojet believes that its strategic partnerships make it immune to any potential recession. It took a further four B757-200(PCF)s in 2022 - increasing its total fleet of the type to 13 - to free up its B767 freighters for growth. The ch-aviation fleets module shows it currently operates three B767-200(ERBDSF)s, four B767-300ER(BCF)s, and fourteen B767-300ER(BDSF)s. It also has a further two B767-300ERs under conversion, with the first of the pair expected to redeliver in January 2023.
Virmani said that in the event of a more severe crisis, Cargojet retains the option of deferring the two new B767-300 freighters to 2024 or even cancel them. It also has the option of deferring one more of its eight B777 freighters.
"If things get really bad out there, we certainly have at least CAD150 million to CAD200 million (USD113-150 million) that we can defer. But I think after coming back and looking at it, we also made other contingency plans, and we can certainly defer maybe twice as much," Virmani confirmed.
Cargojet's B777 backlog is an eclectic mix of commitments for converted aircraft, including at least two B777-200(LR)(MF)s, two B777-200s, and four B777-300s.
